By Brian Bohl
Even with a healthy roster, the Pride’s journey to the playoffs would have proved a difficult challenge. Factor in the potential season-ending injury to Kareem Huggins, and the road to the Football Championship Subdivision postseason could end suddenly unless Hofstra snaps a two-game losing streak against William and Mary Saturday afternoon.
Huggins was leading the FCS in all-purpose yards before hurting his ankle in last week’s 35-31 road loss to Villanova. Quarterback Bryan Savage nearly culminated the comeback attempt before the final drive stalled deep in Wildcats territory, dropping the 15th-ranked Pride’s record to 6-2 (3-2 conference) after a fast start once had them atop the CAA’s North Division standings.
After starting the campaign with six straight wins, coach Dave Cohen’s team was ranked as high as 10th before the team suffered two losses in a seven-day span. They now face a William and Mary team coming off a near-upset against first-place UMass. They also will be without team MVP Huggins, who is leading the conference with just over 209 all-purpose yards per game, which is 30 yards more than the next closest player.
One consolation can be that William and Mary (4-4, 2-3) is allowing an average of 390 yards per game on defense. The Tribe allowed 48 points last game, though they are fourth against the pass in the conference and can put up points quickly.
Despite the numbers, Savage will need to be careful facing a defensive unit that generated four turnovers and is currently ranked fourth against the pass. Defensive back Derek Cox leads William and Mary with three interceptions while David Caldwell has 72 tackles.
Savage should enjoy decent protection, considering the Tribe are credited with just nine sacks this season. That should give the junior passer enough time to look for receiver Charles Sullivan, the CAA leader in receptions (65), yards (819) and yards-per-game (102.4).
Red-shirt freshman Everette Benjamin received 11 carries to compensate last week after Huggins went down in the third quarter. Huggins was on his way to another 100-yard rushing game before exiting, carrying 12 times for one touchdown.
With no other established running back on the roster, it will be up the passing attack to carry more of the offensive burden. Savage was sacked four times last week and became skittish in the pocket at times. He ended up scrambling even with Sullivan and Anthony Nelson open, finishing with 16 carries.
“At times, we press,” Cohen said. “You saw in the fourth quarter we threw the ball out of bounds and made a decision to tuck the ball and run. Sometimes you just live to fight another day rather than putting the money on the line where it would be a big play for them. We don’t need to be high rollers.”
If Savage rushes that many times against the Tribe, the Pride could be in trouble. But a more pressing issue is the turnover differential, something Cohen’s stressed all season. To qualify for the 16-team playoff for the first time since 2001, the minus-4 turnover margin will most likely need improvement. Hofstra needs to win two out of three and possibly even run the table to stay in contention, a daunting task that entails traveling to Northeastern Nov. 10 before hosting No. 4 UMass in the regular season finale.
“For the second week in a row, the turnover margin was just devastating to us,” Cohen said. “You can’t have four turnovers and beat a quality team. They scored three touchdowns without the defense even being on the field.”
Offensively, William and Mary also claims a junior quarterback who can pull the football down and run. Jake Phillips tossed one touchdown pass and ran for another score against the Minutemen. He also connected with tight end Drew Atchison for six completions, helping to build a temporary lead over the conference powerhouse.
Courtland Marriner supported Phillips with 95 rushing yards, meaning Pride linebackers Luke Bonus and Gian Villante will be asked to support the line to stop Marriner while also helping to contain Atchinson in the flat.